Terrorist TPLF's Crimes Left Unheeded by the International Community

BY A STAFF WRITER

A research group composed of researchers from ten public universities and the Central Statistical Agency in Amhara region recently delivered a comprehensive report on atrocities conducted by terrorist TPLF in 10 zones of the region and revealed the extent to which the terrorist organization has destroyed the socio-economic structure of the region over the last 19 months.

The research that was conducted over a period of 5 months in the region disclosed that the material destruction and damage carried out by the terrorist organization in the region amounted to more than 288 billion birr. The terrorist forces, according to the research findings, committed 1,782 cases of rape on women, children and the elderly in the region.

The report further added than close to 7,000 residents in the region who had nothing to do with the invasion of the terrorists were cold bloodily killed by the terrorists out of which close to 5,000 are women. The research document confirmed earlier reports on rape cases on nuns and girl children who were in school.

Apart from the accusations and fabricated reports of the western media houses against the Ethiopian government on the violation of human rights and possible crimes against humanity, most of the western houses have never acknowledged the facts on the ground; and the efforts of the government in overcoming the challenges facing the country. The western media houses frequently overlook the realities on the ground. They never cared to identify the truth from falsehood by conducting genuine investigations on the ground. They just follow the rhythm of TPLF.

Ethiopia has time and again reported that it is ready to conduct further investigations into the allegations of human rights by commissioning a special committee composed of the representatives from the Ministry of Justice, Federal Police, and Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and security services. Ethiopia has cooperated with the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) of EHRC and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) towards bringing the perpetrators before the courts of law.

Recently, University of Gondar has conducted similar investigation on the crimes committed by terrorist TPLF in the Wolkayit Zone.

These researches and their subsequent findings clearly vindicate that although TPLF has conducted the most unprecedented crimes on citizens in Amhara and Afar regions, the international community and the human rights organizations have chosen to keep silent and even gave themselves the liberty of preparing fake reports that would never tally with the actual situation on the ground in Amhara and Afar regions. Surprisingly enough, the Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the BBC continued to prepare make up stories on human rights violations in the two regions while in actual fact the main perpetrator by all standards is found to be the barbaric fighters of terrorist TPLF.

In a recent report from Kobo in Northern Wollo, stories of women who fled forced recruitment in Mekele are horrifying. In the military training camps established in and around Mekele, women recruits who have been raped stand at more than 500 , where most of whom are three month pregnant. As these women recruits have no voice to air their grievances, terrorist TPLF was trying to push them to the battle front, disregarding their fragility.

The western media houses, human rights organizations and the UN systems have  ignored  the plight of the victims of terrorist TPLF forces but are bust trying to politicize the realities on the ground, siding with  the terrorist organizations and its local lackeys.  

Whatever crimes committed by terrorist TPLF is being overlooked no matter why. If the crimes committed by terrorist TPLF as provided by evidence based researches are not considered as violation of human rights and crimes against humanity, what could violations of human rights and subsequent crimes on humanity in Ethiopia be?

The world is yet to know more about the devilish activities of terrorist TPLF. The international community of nations is duty bound to discharge their responsibilities by making terrorist TPLF and its big mouth leaders accountable for their actions in Amhara and Afar regions. Otherwise they cannot stand before the judgment seat of history and human morality.

The double standard that the west pursues on human rights emanates from recurrent attempts that are made on politicizing human rights depending on which country is involved. No international media has showed such glaring double standards in covering atrocities committed by criminal groups around the world. However, Ethiopia is repeatedly under attack by their  misinformation media campaign. For instance, western media houses utter no word on specific issues of violations of human rights committed by terrorist TPLF but try to make the government of Ethiopia totally accountable for issues they think are related to human rights. They never take time to take up the issue with terrorist TPLF nor are they serious about visible violations of human rights on the part of terrorist TPLF fighters.

As a matter of fact, they use issues of human rights as a casus belli for their economic war on Ethiopia through a barrage of sanctions. The west uses the issue of human rights in its carrot and stick policy to dictate their foreign policy objectives on countries like Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is not basing her commitments to human rights only as an element of its domestic policies but has also incorporated human rights elements in her legal system through the constitution and other subsidiary laws of the country.

This country has all; the capacity to investigate possible human rights violations in the country and make accountable those who violate such rights.  As a member of the UN and its organs, Ethiopia also expects UNHRC to cooperate and support Ethiopia in ensuring the observance of human rights in the country. However, the organization seems to infer that it is the only global body responsible to investigate human rights violation across the world.

The ongoing efforts by the government of Ethiopia demonstrate the fact that upholding human rights is a major guarantee for the country to ensure the prevalence of democracy, good governance and peaceful development. The international community should genuinely recognize this effort and act accordingly if its concern and involvement in the Ethiopian internal affairs is really out of the protection of human rights and ensuring sustainable peace in the country.